I’m thrilled to be participating in Rachel’s month-long apple event again this year. Last year I brought apple crisp granola to the party and this year I came up with these fun apple cheesecake shortbread cookies. If you’re a cheesecake fan, you’ll love these cookies. They taste just like apple cheesecake. They’re easy to make shortbread cookies (slice and bake!) but they aren’t your average shortbread cookies. They boast the flavors of cream cheese, dried apples, cinnamon and crunchy walnuts. It’s like cheesecake…that you can eat with your hands.

What says fall more than apples, cinnamon and walnuts? Okay maybe pumpkin does…but let’s not dwell on details here! This is APPLE month on Baked by Rachel! I love walking into the grocery store and smelling all the apples in the produce section. Or better yet, walking up to an apple orchard and smelling the fresh donuts and cider. I’m obviously ready for fall, can you tell?

These cookies will be great at your next party, or for pumpkin carving night…or with your coffee tomorrow.

I made these cookies with dried apples that I dried myself, using a method similar to the one Rachel used for her Maple Apple Chips. You can definitely buy store-bought dried apples as well. Both methods will work. I also used reduced-fat cream cheese, because it is what I happened to have. It worked great! You could use either full-fat or reduced-fat but I’d stay away from non-fat cream cheese in this recipe. Enjoy!

Directions:

Whisk flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla and cream on medium speed with the paddle attachment until pale and fluffy, or about 2 minutes.
With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients until just combined. Add in dried apples and mix only until combined.
On a sheet of parchment paper, shape the dough into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap up in parchment paper and freeze until firm, or at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove dough from freezer and roll in chopped walnuts. Slice into 1/4 inch slices (roll the outside in walnuts again after slicing if necessary) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until golden brown around edges, or about 16-18 minutes. Cool for 2-3 minutes on trays before removing from trays and putting on a wire rack to cool completely.

Seriously how awesome is the idea of slice and bake cheesecake… in cookie form?! Sounds perfect! -Rachel